http://www.winnipegsun.com/2014/07/30/west-dominance-stirs-up-realignment-talk

 

Pretty good all-encompassing article from Penton here... the one section that I thought was particularly interesting was the anonymous thoughts from CFL coaches and executives.... I'll post here for your convenience...

 

CFL coaches and execs give their anonymous thoughts on what they’re talking about behind closed doors:

If Montreal loses the next game or two, I don’t think they’ll fire Higgins. They shouldn’t, anyway. But Popp will do something. He has to. Something big. Maybe a trade … I’ve been saying since 2007 the CFL should be one division. Winnipeg and Saskatchewan in the Grey Cup? Who was the East team? That was a joke then … The CFL should keep its divisions because of tradition. It goes in cycles. The Grey Cup loses a lot of its country-wide interest if it’s up for grabs in just half the provinces … Chris Jones’ fake punt attempt was idiocy. Fake for what? To take a knee if they got the first down? … The Argos are still the best team in the East Division. They have the best quarterback, all-around team and veteran coaches. So any time you have the best QB in the division you are the top team when the rest of the teams’ QBs are struggling … I’m tempted to say the most underrated offensive player in the league this year is Steve Morley at centre in Winnipeg, but if not him then it’s Jeff Fuller in Calgary or Taj Smith in Saskatchewan … The league should have changed the ratio when we added Ottawa. Should have lowered the number of Canadians. It’s still July, and we can’t find Canadians worth a (hoot) on the street. If we lose another Canadian starter or two, where are we going to find replacements? No one will trade Canadians. We’ve tried, but we always get ‘Can’t trade our Canadians.’ Everyone has the same problem. Four months of football left to play and barely enough good Canadians in July … When we watch Winnipeg’s defence I ask myself ‘How was Gary Etcheverry out of work in our league?’ I didn’t return his call a year ago. Watching them play, I should have interviewed him … Nothing’s wrong with Ricky Ray. Right now we’re seeing the Ricky Ray we played against when he was in Edmonton. He was good for them, but not the best in the league. When he doesn’t have great protection, he’s not a superstar. Struggles against pressure … I don’t know Doug Malone over in Saskatchewan, but his offensive line is the best in the league. He’s got the young Canadian (Ben) Heenan playing good at tackle and their young centre, number 67 (Dan Clark), impressed me … The Bombers are for real. They’re solid … Toronto will win the East. They have the best quarterback over there. Ray will stay the same. No emotional roller-coaster. Unlike Burris, he won’t start pointing fingers … The most underrated offensive linemen, the ones who don’t hear nearly enough about, are Montreal’s Luc Brodeur-Jordain and Calgary’s Dan Federkeil … It’s too early to pull the chute on Troy Smith in Montreal. Give the kid a chance.

I also bolded the parts that I found especially interesting (mostly Bomber related).... thoughts?

I thought that move was a Joe Mack/Buchko decision?

 

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/football/bombers/Bombers-moving-back-to-CFLs-West-Division-223527041.html

 

Wade was in charge when they made the announcement.   I suppose it is possible those talks started with Joe Mack / Buchko

 

 

 

"We are proud of our history in the CFL, but especially proud of our ten Grey Cup victories, eight of which came as we represented the West," said Wade Miller, acting Chief Executive Officer of the Blue Bombers.

We should be part of the WEST anyways;  it's easier for us to go to games in the WEST.  We are a more Western team with more fans in the western provinces then the eastern provinces.  We are just the central team that means we get swapped around every time the east loses a team.  Hopefully when we get 10 teams again we will always have at minimum 9 teams after that point.  I also believe we should leave the ratio; Winnipeg is now about the be able to start 8 Canadians.  There are multiple teams starting 8 or 9 Canadians now.  We are starting to show that Canadians can play in multiple positions and actually take over the starting spots of internationals.  The ratio and the new team is forcing this to happen and allowing those rookie Canadians to get chances.  They prove themselves get the experience and many of them are now holding their own.

They should have just left Winnipeg in the East this year. If a team is going to fail it'll be an Eastern team so if that happens god forbid it would mean yet another division switch for the Bombers. But I guess they want the playoffs to have eastern time zone teams... 

 

I'm pretty sure the Bombers askwere given a choice and asked to move.

They might have to lower the number of Canadians if the 10th team comes in. The biggest evidence right now is oline issues across the league. There is not enough depth there and quarterbacks are getting killed which is really not good for the league.

Anonymous CFL GUY never even talked about attendance. #headinthesand

They might have to lower the number of Canadians if the 10th team comes in. The biggest evidence right now is oline issues across the league. There is not enough depth there and quarterbacks are getting killed which is really not good for the league.

teams are stubbornly trying to play 4+ NIs on the OL still, they gotta look at using more in non traditional places. Teams are bringing in too much good american defensive line talent the OL are getting outmatched. 

Back in the day, there were always at least 2 International players on the OL because Canadians could play elsewhere that they don't now. I remember Buddy Brown at right guard & Butch Norman at left tackle back 30 years ago when Dieter Brock was our qb & they were stud players. We always started at least one Canadian linebacker back then. It was either Rob McLaren & later Bob Toogood. And we had an International somewhere else like Doug Strong or Merv Walker at corner. We just have to find Nationals that can start & play the traditional import positions that they weren't then but have become now.

When the Renegades came into the league the ratio dropped from 10 to the current 7, leave it as is. BC, Hamilton, Toronto, Montreal and Winnipeg are starting more than the required 7 even with all the injuries and let's be honest, it's not as though the RedBlacks took a lot of top end talent in the expansion draft. IMO the Canadian talent and depth across the league this season looks good, just a bunch of whining by lazy football ops individuals.

It is the depth that has taken a hit on most teams, and that depth is felt most when injuries hit.

 

Personally, I like that teams are being forced to play Canadian in new ways.  Mother is the necessity of invention.   Canadian athletes aren't necessarily worse then their American counter parts, they just haven't had the same opportunities, training, and competition.

 

Give these Canadian kids a chance to play against higher competition and watch them grow into gamers.

Does anyone have any thoughts on why the OL became a 'Canadian position'?  Surely the position requires as much coaching and development as any other?

Man, I am all aboard the no-division train.  In a thirty-something team league, it makes sense to reduce travel costs, create rivalries, find a somewhat fair way to give the best teams playoff spots.  In a 9 team league? Nah.  We play every team, regardless of division, so frequently that I end up hating them all at the end of the year anyways.  My rivalry is with every single team.  Sure I feel more strong hatred towards the Riders but its not like I'm sitting here thinking that Hamilton is a team I wouldn't mind losing to.  I hate them all.

 

I don't think there's a need to decrease the ratio at all.  There will be a temporary adjustment period, as we are seeing now, but in the end this will only lead to more opportunities for Canadians, which should increase CIS football development and then hopefully the professional product years later.  The ratio is just like any other football strategy.  Teams that manage it well will succeed.  Those who don't, won't.  Its hard on everyone this year, anyways.

Does anyone have any thoughts on why the OL became a 'Canadian position'?  Surely the position requires as much coaching and development as any other?

 

I think the athleticism between an OL and other positions is greater, and that's where the gap starts.  American receivers and defensive backs, for instance, have been training for those positions for years and the American system has targeted tall, fast players.  By the time they come up here they've been playing that spot for anywhere from 5-10 years, which is a tremendous advantage development-wise (though the waggle is something Canadians have learned).  Offensive lineman requires a lot of coaching still, but if the Canadian player didn't start playing that position until late in high school, he might not be as far behind as his American OL counterpart.  

 

Does anyone have any thoughts on why the OL became a 'Canadian position'?  Surely the position requires as much coaching and development as any other?

 

I think the athleticism between an OL and other positions is greater, and that's where the gap starts.  American receivers and defensive backs, for instance, have been training for those positions for years and the American system has targeted tall, fast players.  By the time they come up here they've been playing that spot for anywhere from 5-10 years, which is a tremendous advantage development-wise (though the waggle is something Canadians have learned).  Offensive lineman requires a lot of coaching still, but if the Canadian player didn't start playing that position until late in high school, he might not be as far behind as his American OL counterpart.  

 

You can't coach big... So, the position lends itself to big men & since only 5 players per team start that is only 45 players. 

It is the depth that has taken a hit on most teams, and that depth is felt most when injuries hit.

 

Personally, I like that teams are being forced to play Canadian in new ways.  Mother is the necessity of invention.   Canadian athletes aren't necessarily worse then their American counter parts, they just haven't had the same opportunities, training, and competition.

 

Give these Canadian kids a chance to play against higher competition and watch them grow into gamers.

Teague Sherman being a good example of this. Guy is coming along quite nicely. I think the biggest thing the CFL needs to look into is better ways for teams to develop NIs without having to keep them on the roster if they're not quite ready to play. 

Keep the divisions for the 2 teams in first place.

Let the first place teams in each division get a bye.  Generally speaking, the first place team in the east is on par with teams in the west.

 

Then take the next 4 best teams in the league, whether they be in the east or the west and let them play each other in the first round.

 

Then in the second round let the bye team with the best record play the first round winner with the worst record.

 

That way you still get the best teams in the CFL in the playoffs and you don't completely alienate the eastern time zone.

If the CFL wanted to really develop Canadian talent, all they would have to do is subsidize the coaching at the University level to attract better coaches. The CFL, of course, doesn't have the money and if even if they somehow did, the mania surrounding college football will never be the same in Canada as it is in the Excited States, and that is probably a good thing. Universities here should rightfully focus on academics instead of athletics as a preparation for pro sports.

I'm not sure why the league should make any changes or accommodations just to increase the chances that the 5th place team in the West can make the playoffs.

 

Especially since keeping some level of interest in eastern teams has importance to the overall health and stability of the CFL.

I'm not sure why the league should make any changes or accommodations just to increase the chances that the 5th place team in the West can make the playoffs.

 

Especially since keeping some level of interest in eastern teams has importance to the overall health and stability of the CFL.

 

I'd agree with this.

The system they put in place allowing a crossover team in the first place, addressed the biggest issue we had in the CFL…where the teams with poor records in one division, made the playoffs over team with better records.

It works better now in a league with 2 divisions, and the only way to improve that is to have one division…and I'm not sure that's going to happen any time soon.

Rich, on 30 Jul 2014 - 2:21 PM, said:

It was the Bombers choice and Wade chose to move back to the West, as that is where we belong.

 

Yes plus it allows us to play our true rival green men team 3x, as the case should be.  Means we actually get to mess the clock up in the Riders heads by bringing them out on the field on another day besides Sunday.

 

I'm not sure why the league should make any changes or accommodations just to increase the chances that the 5th place team in the West can make the playoffs.

 

Especially since keeping some level of interest in eastern teams has importance to the overall health and stability of the CFL.

 

I'd agree with this.

The system they put in place allowing a crossover team in the first place, addressed the biggest issue we had in the CFL…where the teams with poor records in one division, made the playoffs over team with better records.

It works better now in a league with 2 divisions, and the only way to improve that is to have one division…and I'm not sure that's going to happen any time soon.

 

 

When there is a crossover, just let the team with the best record host the 1st playoff game  (while the division leaders takes their bye) ... fixes a lot of stuff with one tiny change doesn't it?